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In this weeks episode of the Quantum Leap Rewatch, Cory and Tom take the hot seat and check their BPM as they discuss season 3 episodes 19 and 20, “Last Dance Before an Execution” & “Heart of a Champion”.
Last Dance Before an Execution:
Sam leaps into Jesus Ortega, an inmate on death row that is about to be executed for the robbery of a church and the murder of a priest but luckily he is pardoned by the governor at the final second.
Al arrives to tell Sam that in the future, Jesus is in a comatose state and unable to help with details of his life but they both assume that Sam is there to help prove Jesus’s innocence. Luckily, the assistant district attorney named Tearsa, has been aiding Jesus in secret, due to her being on the district attorney Moody’s legal team. Unfortunately, in the original history, Tearsa was discovered by Moody who then ruined her career as a lawyer. Moody meanwhile, is determined to have Jesus executed along with several other criminals as proof that he is hard on crime, an issue he has been promoting in his race to win the governorship.
With the help of Al and a little girl, Tearsa is able to find the missing bullet at the murder scene but unfortunately it ends up being an exact match for Jesus’s gun, proving that he had actually been lying to her all this time.
As Sam is set up again to face the electric chair now that the stay of execution is over, Al shows up and has him make a confession that Jesus acted alone in the murder, thereby exonerating his friend Raul, who was also on death row and sentenced to be executed. Al also has Sam reveal information that Moody arranged for a key witness in the case to leave the state so he couldn’t help Raul escape his prison sentence. With Moody now ruined, and Raul and Tearsa saved, the warden throws the switch, sending electricity to the chair as Sam finally leaps.
Ziggy’s Data Retrieval:
Tearsa is played by Jenny Gago. She was also in Lost as an agent working who was working with Sayid.
Raul is played by Julio Oscar Mechoso. He was in Jurassic Park as Enrique Cardoso and in Police Academy 5 as Shooting Range Cop.
Moody is played by James Sloyan. He was in Next Gen as a Romulan and in Deep space Nine as a Bajoran. He did lots of 80’s sitcoms and dramas, as well.
Herb Stein is played by Michael Holden. We’ve seen him as a detective in the episode of Lois and Clark, Faster Than a Speeding Vixen.
This episodes unsung hero is Stephen Domingas. This is it. That’s all. Nothing else. Nada. Zip. Zilch!
A Hunting We Will Go:
Sam leaps into Terry Sammis, a wrestler, who along with his brother Ronny, form a tag team based on Russian characters. Al tells Sam that if Rony wrestles in the big title match they have scheduled, he will end up dying. Sam tries to get Ronny to decide against wrestling but he won’t have it, stating that he promised his older brother, now deceased, that he would win the championship for him.
Added to Sam’s troubles is Sherry, the wife of the opponent he is to face in the big match, Carl Shilo. Sherry enjoys seeing her husband Carl beat up men that she flirts with and Sam ends up narrowly avoiding a beating each time she shows up around him.
When Al goes over Ronnys medical history, Sam realizes that an illness Ronny had as a boy could be what is affecting his heart now and gets him to agree to seeing a doctor for a full exam if they win the match against Carl.
Sam decides that he must win the match by himself, lest Ronny die as he did in the original history, and stays in the ring for over an hour, taking beating after beating before finally getting Carl in a sleeper hold and causing him to pass out. Ronny decides to hold true to his word and see a doctor the next day, while Sam gets to achieve a small bit of revenge by kicking Sheri in the butt just as he finally leaps.
Ziggy’s Data Retrieval:
Don Hood plays the promoter, Lemar, in this episode. We’ve seen him in The Flash ‘90 episode Shroud of Death as Frank Dejoy.
Lottie was played by Angela Paton from Everywhere But For Us. She played Mrs. Meadows in the Sliders episode called The Chasm.
Carl is played by Terry Funk. He is a champion in NWA. His debut was in a Sylvester Stallone movie called Paradise Alley and later appeared in Roadhouse. He was a wrestler in ECW and WWF as Chainsaw Charlie.
This episodes unsung hero is Jeff Hochendoner. He was in “I Am Number Four” as Sheriff James, and also appeared in The Last Boy Scout with Bruce McGill, Joe Santos. He was also Moose in Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again
Kiss With History:
Al mentions that Ronny’s son goes on to win silver at the ’68 Olympics. The 1968 Olympics were held in Mexico City, Mexico. Check out the lighting of the torch and opening ceremony below.
Whats Next?
Next weeks episode discussions are “Nuclear Family” and “Shock Theater”, the final episodes of season 3.
Thanks:
We give thanks to some dedicated fan sights. For more information on Quantum Leap, please take the time to check out The Quantum Leap Wiki and Al’s Place.
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